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CMRE enables retrograde, consolidation of equipment

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Katherine Spessa
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing
The Central Command Material Recovery Element conducted a joint inspection of cargo returning to the U.S. from Kabul Feb. 14, 2017 at Hamid Karzai International Airport.

A four-person team from CMRE, along with 368th Military Police Company customs agents, forward deployed to HKIA from Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan to conduct the inspection to ensure the material was airworthy.

“Since October 2016, we have forward deployed 27 fly away teams to 13 forward operating bases to airlift 386 tons of cargo,” said Staff Sgt. Patrick Bond, CMRE fly-away team leader. “We work hand in hand with customs officials in country. They clear it for EPA violations and things that can’t leave the country and we do the airlift inspection.”

The primary mission of the CMRE is the retrograde and redistribution of cargo in Afghanistan. They conduct joint inspections and aircraft loading operations to transport various units in and out of austere locations on fixed-wing aircraft.

CMRE is comprised of six Air Force career fields: air transportation, traffic management office, logistics plans, supply, vehicle maintenance and vehicle operations. They forward deploy in teams tailored for what the mission calls for.

“With us in country, with the qualifications that we have, we are able to conduct quick-turn inspections and ensure we are able to get material back to the U.S. in a timely manner,” Bond said.